Canton 16 – Gouverneur 5
The Bears traveled to Gouverneur to face the Wildcats on Tuesday. Coming off their biggest win of the season, the Bears were locked in offensively. After Seniors David and Erich Zuhlsdorf were both hit by pitches in the first, Senior Nate Romano singled them both home to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Charlie Todd and Senior Luke Wentworth also joined the party, giving the Bears a total of five runs in the top of the first. David Zuhlsdorf mowed down the Wildcat hitters, striking out ten hitters in four and a third innings pitched. The Bears continued to add on runs, and Wentworth’s two run single in the fifth put the Bears over the mercy rule mark. Freshman Zadok Roiger came in to seal the deal as the Bears won 16-5 in five innings.
Final line: D. Zuhlsdorf 4.1 IP, 10 K’s, 0 BB, 0 ER. Romano 3-4, 4 RBIs, 2 Runs.
Canton 3 – Potsdam 1
The Sandstoners welcome Canton for a highly anticipated rematch on Friday. With Sophomore Charlie Todd on the mound, the Bears had confidence in attacking Potsdam Ace Jaxon Bernard. The Bears took the lead early, off of a sacrifice fly from Romano that scored Erich Zuhlsdorf. Then, Sophomore Paul Redfern III scorched a single into right, scoring two more. Charlie Todd dominated on the mound, giving up only one run (0 earned) over seven innings. Wentworth, who has established himself as one of the best centerfielders in the section, made a brilliant catch off of a rocked from Potsdam’s Charlie Rossner.
The Bears win moved them to 5-5 on the year (5-4 league).
Canton 1 – OFA 2
The Bears traveled to Ogdensburg to defend their title in the Annual Jim Pinkerton tournament. David Zuhlsdorf took the mound once again, this time to battle Camden Griffith from OFA. Playing in the wood bat tournament seemed to hinder the Bears’ batting skills, except for Roiger. Roiger swung the bat well all day, and singled in Wentworth for the Bears’ lone run. Ogdensburg got it back after a miscommunication between the middle infielders for the Bears. The game was tied, 1-1, all the way up to the last inning. OFA got a leadoff baserunner off of an infield single. After two passed balls, the OFA hitter laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to secure the walk-off win.
David Zuhlsdorf finished with 6.1 IP, 11 K’s, 0 BB, and 2 Runs (1 ER).
Canton 6 – Lisbon 8
The Bears still had a chance to retain their title, but it was imperative that they beat the Lisbon Golden Knights. Roiger was given the ball for his first career start, and was tasked with handling a very offensively gifted Lisbon lineup. With two men on and two men out, Lisbon’s Armando Lazaro ripped a home run over the left field wall to give the Knights an early 3-0 lead. The Bears would take the lead just a few innings later, scoring four runs off Lazaro, capped off by a big bases clearing double from Sophomore Jackson Ames. Lisbon would score four more, including a long home run from leadoff hitter Matt Bleau. The Bears’ threatened to score in the sixth, as Romano came up with guys on first and second. The third baseman dropped his pop-up, but pegged Sophomore Matt Bradish-Hayes out at the plate. Lisbon would hold on to beat the Bears, 8-6.
The Bears have two crucial games to securing home field advantage in the semifinals, with a game in Salmon River on Tuesday and hosting OFA on Thursday.
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